Monday, December 22, 2014

Gaza: Have a Coke and a smile

Coca-Cola will open its first-ever plant in the Gaza Strip in 2015, joining a previously existing Pepsi plant. Nine trucks carrying assembly line parts have already left Jordan, crossed
Israel and entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing. The plant is owned by Palestinian billionaire Munib al-Masri and
Palestinian-American businessman Zahi Khouri. Khouri is the chairman of the Palestinian National Beverage Company and already owns three Coca Cola franchises in the West Bank.

The plant is expected to employ 360 Palestinians by 2016. Eventually, the plant is expected to provide employment to nearly 1,000 in Gaza. The construction is expected to take three years at a cost of $20
million.

And because its Gaza, not everyone is happy with the prospect of jobs and normalization. After all, wasn't Coca-Cola on the boycott list?